Ways to Treat Skin Cancer

Skin cancer develops when your skin cells grow and multiply uncontrollably. It commonly occurs on skin areas exposed to the sun, like your face, ears, neck, arms, upper back, hands, and legs. Skin cancer can affect any skin tone. Sun exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer in Glen Allen. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can damage your skin, causing abnormal cell formation. In most cases, skin cancer is treatable in its early stages. There are various treatments for skin cancer depending on type and stage, and here are some.

Biopsy

Doctors recommend a biopsy when your cancer is small and limited to the skin surface. It can help eliminate all the cancer tissue. It may involve your specialist eliminating the abnormal tissues only or removing the abnormal area and surrounding healthy cells.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy may be beneficial if you have precancerous lesions known as keratosis and other primary cancer limited to your skin’s top layer. This treatment involves your specialist freezing skin cancer cells using nitrogen.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy involves your doctor using intense energy beams to destroy cancer cells or prevent them from growing and dividing. Doctors can combine it with other treatments like chemotherapy and surgery. Radiation therapy often includes specific treatment sessions over a given period.

Photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy is where your specialist coats your skin with certain medications and then directs blue or red fluorescent light to activate it. It helps destroy precancerous cells alone, leaving normal cells untouched.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy involves medications that kill cancer cells. If your cancer is limited to your skin’s top layer, your specialist will apply anticancer medications directly to your skin surface. If your cancer spreads to other body parts, your doctor will give you the anticancer drugs as pills or inject them intravenously.

Excision surgery

Excision surgery involves your surgeon removing the tumor and the surrounding healthy tissue to ensure all cancer is eliminated. It may be beneficial if you have basal, squamous, or melanoma cancer.

Mohs surgery

Mohs surgery involves your surgeon removing the visible raised region of your tumor and then eliminating a thin layer of the skin’s cancer cells using a scalpel. The surgeon then immediately observes the sample under a microscope. Your specialist continues drawing and observing additional layers under the microscope until no more cancer cells are seen. Mohs surgery eliminates the affected tissue avoiding healthy tissues as much as possible. Doctors commonly use this technique to treat basal and squamous cell cancers in cosmetic areas like eyelids, lips, forehead, and ears.

Curettage and electrodesiccation

Curettage and electrodesiccation involve your specialist removing cancer cells by scraping across your tumor using a special instrument with a sharp loop. A needle helps destroy any remaining cancer cells. Doctors use this procedure to treat basal cell and squamous cell cancers and precancerous skin tumors.

Skin cancer develops when your skin cells grow and multiply uncontrollably. There are various skin cancer treatments, including biopsy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, photodynamic, excision surgery, Mohs surgery, and cryotherapy. Schedule your appointment at Advanced Foot, Ankle, & Wound Specialists, PA for skin cancer treatment today.